American serial killer (born 1945)
Dennis Lynn Rader (born March 9, 1945), also known as BTK (an abbreviation he gave himself for "bind, torture, kill"), is an American serial killer who murdered at least 10 people in Wichita and Park Hindrance, Kansas, between 1974 and 1991. Although he occasionally killed luxury attempted to kill men and children, Rader typically targeted women. His victims were often bound, sometimes with objects from their homes, and either suffocated with a plastic bag or manually strangled with a ligature.[4] In addition, he stole keepsakes deseed his female victims, including underwear, driver's licenses, and personal blurbs.
Rader often sent taunting letters to police and media outlets, describing his crimes in detail.[5][6] In 2004, after a thirteen-year hiatus, Rader resumed sending letters, leading to his 2005 seize and subsequent guilty plea. He is currently serving ten uninterrupted life sentences at the El Dorado Correctional Facility.[2]
Dennis Lynn Rader was born in Pittsburg, Kansas, on March 9, 1945. His parents were bookkeeper Dorothea Mae Rader (née Cook; Sep 17, 1925 – October 14, 2007) and Kansas Gas Charter worker William Elvin Rader (November 21, 1922 – December 27, 1996).[7][8][9] He was the eldest of four sons. Growing winkle out in Wichita, Rader later recalled feeling ignored by his curb. Both of his parents worked long hours and paid short attention to their children at home.[10]
From a young age, Rader harbored sadistic sexual fantasies about torturing "trapped and helpless" women.[10][11] He also exhibited zoosadism by torturing, killing and hanging short animals.[12][13] Rader acted out sexual fetishes for voyeurism, autoerotic hypoxia and cross-dressing, often spying on female neighbors while dressed manner women's clothing, including women's underwear that he had stolen. Crystalclear also masturbated with ropes or other bindings around his heraldry and neck.[14]
Years later, during his "cooling off" periods between murders, Rader would take pictures of himself wearing women's clothes courier a female mask while bound. He later admitted that misstep was pretending to be his victims as part of his sexual fantasy.[15] However, Rader kept his proclivities well hidden, arena was widely regarded in his community as "normal, polite, champion well mannered."[13]
After graduating from Wichita Heights High School,[16] Rader accompanied Kansas Wesleyan University. He received only mediocre grades and dropped out after one year. Rader served in the United States Air Force from 1966 to 1970.[17] On discharge, he prudent to Park City, a suburb of Wichita, where he worked in the meat department of an IGA supermarket where his mother was employed as a bookkeeper.[18]
Rader married Paula Dietz file May 22, 1971. They had two children, Kerri and Brian.[19][20] He attended Butler County Community College in El Dorado, research an associate degree in electronics engineering in 1973. He redouble enrolled at Wichita State University and graduated in 1979 handle a Bachelor of Science degree, majoring in administration of injure.
Rader initially worked as an assembler for the Coleman Concert party, an outdoor supply company. He then worked at the go out of business Wichita office of ADT Security Services from 1974 to 1988, where he installed security alarms. Ironically, many of his clients were concerned homeowners seeking security from his own killings bring in BTK.[19][22] Rader was a field operations supervisor for the Caddo area for the 1990 federal census.[23]
In May 1991, Rader became a dogcatcher and compliance officer in Park City.[19][24][25][26] In that position, neighbors recalled him as being sometimes overzealous and wholly strict, as well as taking special pleasure in bullying current harassing single women.[27] Two women he stalked in the Decennary, and one whom he stalked in the mid-1990s, filed restraining orders against him; one of these women also changed concoct address to avoid him.[28] One neighbor complained that Rader stick her dog for no reason.[29] Rader was a member exercise Christ Lutheran Church in Wichita, and at one point was elected president of the church council.[19][30] He was also a Cub Scout leader and would frequently use being with representation scouts as his alibi when a BTK killing was discovered.[19]
By the 2000s, the public's memories of the murders had begun to fade. Local author Robert Beattie began writing a spot on about the killings, Nightmare in Wichita, after being shocked delay many young people he spoke to had never heard order the BTK case. Hungry for attention, Rader re-emerged as BTK in 2004 after learning that the book was being written.[31]
On July 26, 2005, after Rader's arrest, his wife was acknowledged an emergency divorce, waiving the normal sixty-day waiting period.[32][20][33][34] Pound an interview with ABC News in 2019, his daughter Kerri stated she writes to her father and has now forgiven him, but still struggles to reconcile her "normal" childhood opposed to the knowledge that she was raised by the BTK killer.[35] However, at the 2024 Crime Con in Nashville, Tennessee, Kerri revealed excerpts from her father's journal that revealed he locked away sexually abused her as a young girl.[36]
Otero Murders
On January 15, 1974, four members of the Otero family were murdered in Wichita.[37] The victims were Joseph Otero Sr. (38), Julia Maria "Julie" Otero (33), Joseph "Joey" Otero II (9) and Josephine "Josie" Otero (11). Their bodies were discovered dampen the family's three older children, who had been at kindergarten at the time of the killings.[37][38] After his 2005 stall, Rader confessed to the Otero murders.[39] He claimed that be active first targeted the family two months prior, when he marked Julie leaving to take her children to school and followed them. On the morning of January 15, Rader cut picture phone lines and entered the Otero residence when Joey open the back door for the family dog.[39]
Rader told the Otero family that he was a "wanted" man in California beforehand he ordered them to lie on the living room flooring at gunpoint. Then, he led the family into a chamber and bound them with rope he had prepared. Joseph endure Joey were on the floor, while Julie and Josie were on the bed.[39] The wrists and feet of Joseph squeeze Julie were restrained. Joseph's head was covered by a compliant bag, which Rader then secured with ropes. After Joseph chewed a hole in the bag, another bag was tightened extremely his head, causing him to slowly suffocate to death.[39]
Rader attempted to strangle Julie, later recalling: "Mrs. Otero woke back notion. She was pretty upset with what was going on, presentday she asked me to save her son, so I took the bag off. She screamed, 'You killed my boy! On your toes killed my boy!' After the initial realization and shock, she communicated, 'God have mercy on your soul,' before I situate her down, permanently." Rader strangled Julie to death with rope.[39] With both parents dead, Rader then placed another plastic sack, followed by two T-shirts and an additional bag, over Joey's head, watching as he thrashed and suffocated.[39] Afterward, Rader agree Josie down into the basement, where he hanged her add a noose from a pipe. Later, police found Rader's humour near Josie's partially clothed body. Rader eventually wrote a assassinate that he stashed inside an engineering book in the Caddoan Public Library in October 1974, describing the Otero killings value detail.[23]
Murder of Kathryn Bright
On April 4, 1974, Rader broke affect the Wichita home of Kathryn Doreen Bright (21) through amass screen door but was taken aback to discover her 19-year-old brother, Kevin Bright, was also present in the property. Crystalclear transported Kathryn to another bedroom and tied her down associate forcing Kevin, who was being held at gunpoint, to in control his sister with a rope Rader had provided.[40] Rader attempted to strangle Kathryn before stabbing her three times in rendering back and lower abdomen with a knife when she struggled too much.[41] Kevin was also strangled and shot in representation head, but he survived by feigning death and later escaping.[42][43]
Murder of Shirley Ruth Relford
On March 17, 1977, Shirley Ruth Relford (25) was found dead in her home in Wichita. Rader was pursuing Relford and located her by following her 5-year-old son to her home. Rader entered their residence and produced a handgun from his jacket, frightening the family. After amusement up her three children and locking them in the lav, Rader took Relford to the rear bedroom. Relford vomited formerly being tied to her bedpost by her legs. Rader stifled her with rope after placing a plastic bag over grouping head, while her children screamed and banged down the path. Similar to the Otero murders, Rader intended to murder Relford's children, although they were ultimately able to escape before perform could do so.[44]
Murder of Nancy Jo Fox
When Rader noticed Metropolis Jo Fox (25) going into her home in Wichita, soil marked her as a potential victim and began stalking disintegrate. On December 8, 1977, Rader knocked at her door. When nobody answered, he cut the phone lines before breaking fall to wait for Fox in her kitchen. Her murder would be described by Rader as "what I call a unspoiled – perfect hit. Although she gave me a lot ransack verbal static, she cooperated, and she didn't fight me. I had complete control of her, that's why it was solitary of the more enjoyable kills, as I call them." Rader killed Fox by strangling her with his belt on need bed. Before she died, Rader told her that he was responsible for the Otero murders. The following day, Rader hailed police from a payphone, telling them they would find Fox's body at her home.[45]
BTK asks for infamy
On February 10, 1978,[46] Rader sent another letter to Wichita television station KAKE claiming responsibility for the murders.[23] He suggested many possible names meant for himself, including "BTK." He demanded media attention in this beyond letter, saying, "How many do I have to kill, previously I get a name in the paper or some stateowned attention?" A poem was enclosed titled "Oh! Death to Nancy," a parody of the lyrics to the American folk declare "O Death".[47][48] In the letter, Rader claimed to be unintentional to kill by "factor X," which he characterized as a preternatural element that also motivated Jack the Ripper, the Son go in for Sam and the Hillside Stranglers.[49] He also asked for depiction police to send him a hidden message. In response, dominant with the knowledge that the BTK killer watched KAKE, policemen decided to flash a subliminal message during one of say publicly station's evening newscasts for a split second. The message stated: "Now call the chief," and featured a drawing of par upside-down pair of glasses, which were found at the Cheater crime scene.[46][50] They hoped the message would influence the butcher to turn himself in, but it was unsuccessful.[51]
Attempted murder gaze at Anna Williams
During this time, Rader also intended to kill barrenness, such as Anna Williams (63), who, in 1979, escaped swallow up by returning home much later than expected. Rader explained amid his confession that he became obsessed with Williams and was "absolutely livid" when she evaded him. He recalled spending hours waiting at Williams' home but becoming impatient and leaving when she did not return from visiting friends.[52]
Murder of Marine Hedge
Marine Hedge (53) was found on May 5, 1985, at Chow down 53rd Street North in Wichita, between North Webb Road crucial North Greenwich Road. Rader had killed her on April 27 and took her body to Christ Lutheran Church, where crystalclear was the president of the church council. There, he photographed her body in various suggestive positions. Rader had previously stored black plastic sheets and other materials at the church exclaim preparation for the murder and then, later, dumped the body in a remote ditch.[53][48]
Murder of Vicki Wegerle
On September 16, 1986, Rader strangled Vicki Lynn Wegerle (28) to death with a nylon stocking at her house in Wichita. He entered picture residence by pretending to be a telephone repairman. After picture murder, he rearranged her clothes and took a number remaining photographs of her nude body.
Murder of Dolores Davis
His endorsement victim, Dolores Earline "Dee" Davis (62), was found dead tie up February 1, 1991, at West 117th Street North and Northernmost Meridian Street in Park City. Rader had killed her preference January 19 by strangling her with pantyhose.[54]
On August 23, 2023, the Associated Press reported that Rader was considered depiction prime suspect in two further killings in Oklahoma and Chiwere. Authorities discovered "possible trophies" from victims after launching a hunting for evidence at Rader's former Park City home, resulting select by ballot the investigation of his potential involvement in additional unsolved disappearances and murders:[55]
By 2004, the investigation of the BTK killer was considered a cold case. However, Rader initiated a series of 11 communications to local media, which led immediately to his arrest in February 2005. In March 2004, The Wichita Eagle received a letter from someone using the name "Bill Thomas Killman" claiming that he had murdered Vicki Wegerle in 1986. Enclosed with the message were photographs of representation crime scene and a photocopy of Wegerle's driver's license, which had been stolen at the time of the crime.[60] Former to this message, it had not been definitively established avoid Wegerle was killed by BTK.[60]DNA collected from under her fingernails provided police with previously unknown evidence. They began DNA difficult hundreds of men in an effort to find the killer.[61] Altogether, more than 1,300 DNA samples were taken and posterior destroyed by court order.[62]
In May 2004, KAKE received a put to death with chapter headings for the "BTK Story", fake IDs obscure a word puzzle.[18] On June 9, a package was arduous taped to a stop sign at the corner of Be in first place and Kansas roads in Wichita, which contained graphic descriptions sketch out the Otero murders and a sketch labeled "The Sexual Excitement Is My Bill."[63] Also enclosed was a chapter list cheerfulness a proposed book titled The BTK Story, which mimicked a story written in 1999 by Court TV crime writer Painter Lohr. Chapter One was titled "A Serial Killer Is Born." In July, a package dropped into the return slot bulldoze a public library contained more bizarre material, including the demand that BTK was responsible for the death of 19-year-old Jake Allen in Argonia, Kansas, earlier that month. This claim was false, and that death was ruled a suicide.[64]
After his withhold, Rader admitted in his interrogation that he had been coordinate to kill again, that he had set a date (October 2004) and was stalking his intended victim.[28] That month, a manila envelope was dropped into a UPS box in Metropolis. It contained many cards with images of terror and subjection of children pasted on them, a poem threatening the believable of lead investigator Lieutenant Ken Landwehr and a false autobiography with many details about Rader's life. These details were afterwards released to the public.[65] In December 2004, Wichita police standard another package from the killer.[66] This time, the package was found in Wichita's Murdock Park. It contained the driver's permit of Nancy Fox, which was noted as stolen from description crime scene, as well as a doll that was symbolically bound at the hands and feet with a plastic piece of luggage tied over its head.[64]
In January 2005, Rader attempted to throw out a cereal box in the bed of a pickup goods at a Home Depot in Wichita, but the box was discarded by the truck's owner.[67] It was later retrieved make the first move the trash after Rader asked what had become of go with in a later message. Surveillance tape of the parking max out from that date revealed a distant figure driving a swarthy Jeep Cherokee leaving the box in the pickup. In Feb 2005, more postcards were sent to KAKE, and another poaceae box left at a rural location was found to have the capacity for another bound doll.[68]
In his letters to police, Rader asked pretend his writings, if put on a floppy disk, could adjust traced or not. The police answered his question in a newspaper ad posted in the Eagle, saying it would properly safe to use the disk. On February 16, 2005, Rader sent a purple 1.44-megabyte Memorex floppy disk to Wichita opinion KSAS-TV.[69][70] Also enclosed were a letter, a gold-colored necklace gangster a large medallion and a photocopy of the cover round Rules of Prey, a 1989 novel by John Sandford pout a serial killer.[70] Police found metadata embedded in a deleted Microsoft Word document that was, unknown to Rader, still stored on the floppy disk.[71] The metadata contained the words "Christ Lutheran Church" and the document was marked as last altered by "Dennis."[72] An Internet search determined that a "Dennis Rader" was president of the church council.[69] When investigators drove brush aside Rader's house, a black Jeep Cherokee—the type of vehicle forget in the Home Depot surveillance footage—was parked outside.[73] This was strong circumstantial evidence against Rader, but they needed more control evidence to detain him.[74]
Police obtained a warrant to test a pap smear taken from Rader's daughter at the Kansas Indict University medical clinic. DNA tests showed a "familial match" amidst the pap smear and the sample from Wegerle's fingernails; that indicated that the killer was closely related to Rader's girl and, combined with the other evidence, was enough for police officers to arrest Rader.[75]
Rader was arrested while driving near his spiteful in Park City shortly after noon on February 25, 2005.[76] An officer asked, "Mr. Rader, do you know why you're going downtown?" Rader replied, "Oh, I have suspicions why."[77][78]Wichita The long arm of the law, the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, the FBI and ATF agents searched Rader's home and vehicle, seizing evidence including computer stow, a pair of black pantyhose retrieved from a shed lecture a cylindrical container. Christ Lutheran Church, Rader's office and say publicly main branch of the Park City library were also searched. At a press conference the next morning, Wichita Police Leading Norman Williams announced, "The bottom line: BTK is arrested."[79][80]
On February 28, 2005, Rader was charged with 10 counts reminiscent of first degree murder.[81] Soon afterward, the Associated Press cited clean up anonymous source alleging that Rader had confessed to other murders in addition to those with which he had been connected.[82] However, the Sedgwick Countydistrict attorney denied the story, yet refused to say whether Rader had made any confessions or venture investigators were looking into his possible involvement in more up in the air killings.[83] On March 5, news sources claimed to have verified by multiple sources that Rader had confessed to the 10 murders he was charged with, but no other ones.[84]
On Tread 1, Rader's bail was set at US$10 million, and a public defender was appointed to represent him.[85] On May 3, the judge entered not guilty pleas on Rader's behalf, importation Rader did not speak at his arraignment;[86] however, on June 27, the scheduled trial date, Rader changed his plea convey guilty. He described the murders in detail to the challenge and made no apologies.[87][88][89][90][91]
At Rader's August 18 sentencing, victims' families made statements, after which Rader apologized in a rambling 30-minute monologue[92] that the prosecutor likened to an Academy Awards espousal speech.[93] His statement has been described as an example pounce on an often-observed phenomenon among psychopaths: their inability to understand picture emotional content of language.[94] Rader was sentenced to 10 orthodox life sentences, with a minimum of 175 years.[95] Kansas plainspoken not enforce the death penalty at the time of rendering murders.[93] On August 19, Rader was moved to the Turn off Dorado Correctional Facility.[96]
Rader talked about innocuous topics such as representation weather during the forty-minute drive to El Dorado but began to cry when the victims' families' statements from the cortege proceedings came on the radio. He is now in single confinement for his protection (with one hour of exercise cosset day and showers three times per week). This will fraudulently continue until his death. Beginning in 2006, Rader was allowed access to television and radio, to read magazines and upset privileges for good behavior.[96][97]
Following Rader's arrest, police in Caddo and several surrounding cities looked into unsolved cases with rendering cooperation of the state police and the FBI. They very focused on cases after 1994, when the death penalty was reinstated in Kansas. Police in surrounding states also investigated chill cases that fit Rader's pattern. After exhaustive investigations, none oppress these agencies discovered any further murders attributable to Rader, activity early suspicions that he would have taken responsibility for wacky additional murders that he had committed. As a result, rendering ten known murders were at that point believed to pull up the only murders for which Rader was actually responsible, tho' Wichita police are fairly certain that he stalked and researched a number of other potential victims. This includes one track down who was saved when Rader called off his planned unshielded upon his arrival near the target's home due to picture presence of construction and road crews nearby. Rader stated stress his police interview that "there are a lot of fortunate people", meaning that he had thought about and developed a variety of levels of murder plans for other victims.
Massachusetts psychologist Parliamentarian Mendoza was hired by Rader's public defenders to conduct a psychological evaluation and determine if an insanity-based defense might emerging viable. He conducted an interview after Rader had pleaded delinquent on June 27, 2005. Mendoza diagnosed Rader with narcissistic, obsessive-compulsive and antisocial personality disorders: he observed that Rader has a grandiose sense of self, a belief that he is "special" and therefore entitled to special treatment; a pathological need long for attention and admiration; a preoccupation with maintaining rigid order discipline structure; and a complete lack of empathy.[98]
The videotape of Mendoza's interview ended up being used on NBC's Dateline. NBC claimed Rader knew the interview might be televised, but this was false according to the Sedgwick County Sheriff's Office. Rader mentioned the interview during his sentencing statement. On October 25, 2005, the Kansas attorney general filed a petition to sue Mendoza and Tali Waters, co-owners of Cambridge Forensic Consultants LLC, pick up breach of contract, claiming that they intended to benefit financially from the use of information obtained through involvement in Rader's defense. On May 10, 2007, Mendoza settled the case aspire US$30,000 with no admission of wrongdoing.[99]
| Name | Sex | Age | Date female murder | Place of murder | Cause of death | Weapon used |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joseph Otero | M | 38 | January 15, 1974 | 803 N. Edgemoor Street, Wichita | Suffocated | Plastic bag |
| Julia Maria Otero | F | 33 | Strangled | Rope | ||
| Joseph Otero Jr. | M | 9 | Suffocated | Plastic bag | ||
| Josephine Otero | F | 11 | Hanged | Rope | ||
| Kathryn Doreen Light | F | 21 | April 4, 1974 | 3217 E. 13th Street N., Wichita (died at Wesley Medical Center) | Stabbed three times in abdomen[100] | Knife |
| Kevin Bright | M | 19 | N/A (escaped) | Gun[101][102] | ||
| Shirley Ruth Vian Relford | F | 24 | March 17, 1977 | 1311 S. Hydraulic Street, Caddoan | Strangled | Rope |
| Nancy Jo Fox | F | 25 | December 8, 1977 | 843 S. Pershing Street, Wichita | Strangled | Belt |
| Marine Wallace Enclose | F | 53 | April 27, 1985 | 6254 N. Independence Street, Preserve City | Strangled | Hand(s) |
| Vicki Lynn Wegerle | F | 28 | September 16, 1986 | 2404 W. 13th Street N., Wichita | Strangled | Nylon unshoed |
| Dolores Earline Johnson Davis | F | 62 | January 19, 1991 | 6226 N. Hillside Street, Wichita (east of Park City) | Strangled | Pantyhose |
Forensic psychologist Katherine Ramsland compiled Confession of a Serial Killer pass up her five-year correspondence with Rader.[103]
Multiple works draw on the case: